Biological Theories Are Criminals Fundamentally Different from Noncriminals

Biological Theories

Are Criminals Fundamentally Different from Non-criminals? • Classical School – No • Biological positivists – Yes

Emergence of Positivism • Scientific revolution – Optimism about science soars in the 1800 s • Empiricism replaces abstract speculation – Knowledge through measurement • Determinism replaces free will – Search for prior causes, de-emphasize choice

Positivist Criminology in Born • Lombroso’s theory of atavism – Influenced by Darwin • Observed physical differences between criminals and non-criminals – – Large jaw and cheekbones Shifty eyes, “hard” expression Hairy Ears/head too large or too small • Criminals are throwbacks, atavists – Too primitive for modern society

Heredity and Crime • Crime runs in families, twins (2 x greater) – Physical and moral deficits are inherited • Eugenics: goal is to breed better humans – A scientific movement, 1910 -1940 – To prevent the unfit from breeding • Can we control the selection process? – “the elimination of crime can be effected only by the extirpation of the physically, mentally, and morally unfit” (Hooton, 1939)

Sheldon’s Biological Theories • Sheldon’s (1949): constitutional psychology – Body type and personality are related • Three somatotypes – separate scores – Endomorph (soft and round) – Mesomorph (muscular) – Ectomorph (lean) • Delinquents high in mesomorphy, low in ectomorphy

Renewed Interest in Biological Criminology • Focus on hybrid explanations that combine sociology and biology • Soft determinism, limited free will

IQ and Crime: A Persistent Finding • Offenders tend to have lower (verbal) IQ • To this day, the IQ-crime association remains largely unexplained • How might we explain the relationship?

Testosterone: Booth and Osgood (1993) • High testosterone leads children to behave in ways that alienate others (aggression) • This leads to fewer social bonds, which over time, increase crime (control theory) • Conclusions: testosterone affects crime indirectly by reducing social bonds

Ethical and Policy Issues • Blaming the victim

The Shift to Positivism • Shift from rational choice to prior causes • Shift from punishment to rehabilitation • Shift from responsibility to medicalization